Be bold… be beautiful

Want to be the hero of your own story? Practise small acts of bravery and watch life open up before you, says novelist Rowan Coleman

self

Rowan Coleman

Three years ago, I was diagnosed with general anxiety disorder. I didn’t know what to make of it. All I knew was that, in the months before, I’d experienced a deep-seated fear that had changed the way I lived my life, the people I saw and the places I went. I felt ashamed for being so weak.

I didn’t know how to respond to the news that I was, in my eyes at least, a stone-cold coward, except to try and face it. At that moment, the bravest thing I could think of to do was to openly admit to my problems.

So, I posted about it on Facebook. It was a small gesture, one that could have gone unnoticed, but clicking on that ‘post’ button took all the guts I had. I anticipated some ridicule, a little surprise and a bit of sympathy. But what I didn’t expect was for the overwhelming response to be: ‘Thank you for posting this. Everything you have described is exactly how I feel, too, and now I feel less alone.’